Larry Pingel shows the extent of damage beetles can do to a pine tree. He said trees on his land died very quickly from the infestation.

Written by

B.C. Kowalski
Central Wisconsin Sunday

Larry Pingel already has cut down more than 100 pine trees on his 12.5 acres east of Stevens Point.

And he has another 45 to go.

Pine trees on Pingel's town of Stockton land and elsewhere throughout the state have become infested with pine bark beetles, which burrow into pine trees and lay eggs, killing the tree. And trees that already are weak because of last summer's drought are especially vulnerable to the beetles, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials say. ...